Blue Planet II tops iPlayer charts for 2017

Blue Planet II has become BBC iPlayer’s most popular programme of the year so far, with 4.2 million requests for the first episode.

It has overtaken the first episode of Tom Hardy’s Georgian-era drama Taboo by 133,000 requests to become the new frontrunner.

The return of Doctor Foster proved popular with BBC iPlayer audiences, with 3.7 million requests for the first episode and three million for the second.

New BBC One series Three Girls - based on the true stories of victims of grooming and sexual abuse in Rochdale - also performed well, with 3.4 million requests for the first episode and three million for the second.

Other shows to feature in BBC iPlayer’s top ten programmes of 2017 include Sherlock’s New Year’s Day episode, the second episode of Blue Planet II, new series Apple Tree Yard and the return of crime drama Line of Duty.